1001 Inventions at United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Forum

Baku, 27 April 2016: The 7th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 25-27 April 2016. The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Foreign Minister of Spain José Manuel García-Margallo and Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser UNAOC High Representative, opened the high-profile global event.

1001 Inventions participated at the UNAOC Global Forum, which included a Youth Event as well as high-profile plenary sessions, parallel sessions and networking events offering opportunities to strengthen and establish strong partnerships to enhance the inclusion, peace, and justice of global societies.

Ahmed Salim, Producer and Director of 1001 Inventions and Hanan Dowidar, 1001 Inventions Head of Strategic Partnerships participated at the Global Forum. At the session titled “Fostering Inclusiveness and Integration through Global Education”, Ahmed Salim said:

Social exclusion and marginalization breeds many complexities for young people from minority communities. 1001 Inventions transmedia productions, celebrating history of civilisations, aim to harnesses the power of education to offer a positive and alternative narrative to counter stereotypes and prejudices and to support young people from minority groups in search for their identity. Our interactive exhibits, games, films, science theatre, hands-on workshops, books, educational materials, digital content and social media are employed as a catalyst for social cohesion and to help build diverse, tolerant and inclusive societies."

More than 4,300 participants representing governments, international organisations, civil society, media, youth organisations and the private sector from around the world attended the UNAOC Global Forum to share their perspectives on “Living Together in Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and A Goal”. The theme reflects UNAOC’s core mission to improve understanding and collaboration among peoples across cultures by reducing polarization. For further information on the Forum: http://baku.unaoc.org

Guided by the principles of the UN Charter, the report of its High-Level Group, and the priorities of the Secretary-General, the UN Alliance of Civilizations works toward a more peaceful, more socially inclusive world, by building mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious identities, and highlighting the will of the world’s majority to reject extremism and embrace diversity. UNAOC will seek to operate in situations where is can contribute to broader efforts to ameliorate identity based crises and promote culturally sensitive development policies.